<font color=red>QUICK TIPS</font> Build Employee Morale

Most workplace conflicts arise because of communication. This was the message from Susan Fiechtner, Ph.D., a communications specialist who spoke at the recent U.S. Lawns franchise conference.

Fiechtner described the five dysfunctions of a team, as outlined in a book she recommended, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.

Those five dysfunctions are:

• Absence of trust
• Fear of conflict
• Lack of commitment
• Avoidance of accountability
• Inattention to results

There are steps leaders can take to build a healthy, functioning team, including asking employers these questions:

• What are your goals today/this week?
• How are these goals different from your goals last week? “If these people who are working for you are not learning anything, you’re in trouble,” Fiechtner says.
• Where are you wasting time in your job doing something that doesn’t need to be done?
• What do people call and ask you for that you don’t provide, and should you provide it? Do you tell them where they can find it?

Fiechtner also laid out the top reasons people accept job offers and showed that they were different than the reasons people end up keeping jobs. Understanding how employees think could help with keeping a quality workforce.

Top reasons people take a job:

• Money
• Location
• They like the recruiter (who, Fiechtner added, the employee will likely ever see again)

Top reasons people keep a job:

• The people
• Commitment, control and challenge
• Continued opportunities for growth and development
• Values – we work for the people we come home to, Fiechtner said

It’s important to make sure employees’ jobs match their skill sets, she said, adding that could make the employees less committed to the job.